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Main Character Gumption
Have you ever been reading through a thread that your not a part of and realized that there are some characters, where if you remove them entirely from the thread, all their missing dialog and all their missing actions wouldn't actually change the thread at all? Whats more is when you do read those posts, the character in question appears to be some super human ninja master death machine. Chopping guys up left and right with a smirk on his face, not even breaking a sweat. Those are the characters who don't have Main Character Gumption. That ability to integrate themselves into the thread fully. The ability to really make a difference in that thread. The Essence of the Gumption A character with main character gumption is a character that people care about. He is a Spock, Kirk or the McCoy in the group and they contribute to the overall story contained within the thread. Their dialog is important dialog. Their actions are important actions. They drive the plot. You get MCG by integrating yourself into the story. You fill a role that is important to the plot weather that be the teacher guy who knows what to do and instructs everyone else, or the theif guy who is the only one who can unlock the treasure chest. You do not gain MCG by posting outlandish, unrealistic and just plan foolish actions as a means of grabbing attention. People without MCG are the Ensign Ricky's of the away team. They're there, but nobody really cares about them. They're like Yamcha. Who cares about Yamcha? Even if Yamcha were to kill 4 sabimen with one blast, we don't really care because we know he's going to suffer from the worf effect and be killed before the first commercial to prove how serious the situation is. The Problem The problem arises when a character doesn't have the main character gumption, and the member realizes this, and in an effort to force his way into the thread, makes his character do incredibly unrealistic feats of strength and skill. Killing all the enemies with a single swipe of a lightsaber. Or performing a double jump and spinning while shooting a dozen droids in the face while their eyes are closed. All this in some misguided attempt at making everyone else in the thread stop and say "Wow, that guy is awesome. We should suddenly start caring about him." Needless to say, that hardly, if ever, works. In fact it's probably just going to piss some people off. As an example. Say that everyone in the thread has a challenge set before them. Like navigating a shifting maze in pitch black. Their only clue as to which way to go are small light markers left by someone who went just before them. An interesting dilemma for everyone. Then some ass decided his character is just too awesome for that. So he runs ahead, ignoring everyone, and navigates the whole thing in a single post with the excuse of "i've been through the maze before and remembered." Everyone else is thinking. "You remembered a maze that shifts after each time it's been navigated... in pitch black... from several years ago?" They're especially annoyed that up until this point, said character has added nothing to the story. Everyone is a little annoyed but they continue on with the thread, and with ignoring said character until they come to a place where they have to fight some ancient droids, who will only deactivate when a trigger is activated within the droids mouth. Said character begins to cut these droids to ribbons, slicing their heads off and such with his own metal sword, despite the droids also being made of metal and armored. Again, while everyone else is participating in the thread, this guy ruins it by trying to make himself look as awesome as possible, without ever actually contributing anything to the thread. This person lacks main character gumption, and is desperately trying to make up for it. Everyone else in the thread wishes he'd just shut up and act right or at least use the Force so they can legally kill of his character. Summary In short, if you find yourself in a position where your posts are being ignored or even where your posts are being responded to, but no on seems to like you, it's probably because you don't have Main Character Gumption. To remedy this, perhaps you should shut the hell up and start adding something to the thread aside from an overdose of personality. RP your characters with the characters of other members, not in spite of them. Most of all, learn when to quit. Some times there just isn't room in a thread for your character. So much is going on that a minor character who isn't central to the plot can easily be forgotten. It's nothing to worry about. It happens. Man up and move on to the next thread without trying to force your way into the thread with flashyness.